Should a Christian take medication in order to lose weight?

This is a question many believers who are struggling with weight issues are asking in these days. Some see it as vanity or cheating, whilst others see it as a pragmatic answer to prayer. So, which is it?

I want to try to answer this thorny question by exploring four other considerations, but let me say, at the outset, that if you have been, or are considering, taking medication to lose weight, there is absolutely no judgment. Many of you have prayed and agonised over your weight for years; you feel constantly condemned for what you see as personal weakness and have tried everything you can think of to gain control.

If dieting hasn’t worked for you, that’s no surprise! Dieting, as a long-term solution, has been shown to be effective for less that 5% of the dieting population so let me assure you now, that it isn’t you who have failed the diet - the diet has failed you!

This being the case, could weight loss medications – pills or jabs – be the solution? Let us consider the following:

1. Is it a case of life or death? If you are morbidly obese, with a BMI over 40, then you are almost certainly experiencing one or more of a number of related health issues: cardio-vascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disorders, mobility issues and maybe cancer. Your obesity is putting your life at risk, so drastic measures are needed. You may be offered gastric surgery or your GP may advise weight loss medication on the NHS. If this is you, then I would say, be at peace and (hopefully as a temporary measure) follow your doctor’s instruction. There is no condemnation.

   
   

2. Would taking weight-loss medication solve your root issues? GLP-1s work by suppressing your appetite so that you feel full for longer and don’t need as much food to be satisfied. They help with cravings and portion control which makes them a useful medical tool for some people, but they cannot tell you why you eat inappropriately and they can’t fix all the underlying root causes for weight gain. For instance, weight-loss jabs cannot heal shame; they cannot resolve spiritual hunger; they cannot address unhelpful thought patterns or resolve emotional eating behaviour. Pills cannot help you to process trauma, nor can they teach you how to nourish your body well.

   
   

   Unless these issues are resolved, then it is very likely that, once you stop taking the medication, you will regain all the weight you lost.

   
   

3. By taking weight-loss medication, what are you learning as a disciple of Christ?  I’ll answer that with one word – NOTHING!

   
   

   As, disciples of Christ, we are to bring every area of our being under His authority. Every choice we make should honour our Creator and align with God’s will for our lives, and this includes our relationship with food. God wants us to have a Spirit-controlled appetite, so that we treat our bodies with respect as His holy temple and are no longer subject to the magnetism of food.

   
   

   The heart of Christian weight loss is submitting everything to God – which includes all those late-night cravings and stress-eating habits. It’s about learning to turn to God instead of food for comfort.

   
   

   This is hard! It involves dying to self and denying the flesh. But we don’t have to do this alone. When we repent and make Jesus Lord of our eating behaviour, His power becomes available to us and we overcome through the Holy Spirit and the truth of God’s Word as He works mightily within us to transform our lives. You have probably already experienced this in other areas of your life, so now He waits to help you slim from the inside out so that your whole life, body, soul and spirit, brings glory to Him.

   
   

   Weighting on God is more than a weight-loss course; it is also a discipleship program, where you learn day by day and moment by moment what it means to ‘present your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.’

   
   

4. Lastly, consider this: is taking privately-prescribed weight-loss medication, a good way of stewarding your money? It isn’t my place to judge anyone in this matter, but it is surely right that you pray for guidance about it first. It will cost around £1000 a year to purchase these drugs. Is this what God wants you to do? If, taking all other considerations into account, you have peace, then go ahead. It is to your own Master that you stand or fall.

   
   

   But you might like to give Weighting on God a shot first. Just saying!